At my previous duty station I met a girl and our relationship grew. An amazing friendship was formed that has lasted close to five years now. What is amazing about this friendship is that we can go for months without talking and nothing changes. We cross paths occasionally for work and things continue on as if nothings changed. Then we plan trips to visit foreign countries and act like tourists together.

A few months back we decided that we were going to go on an adventure. Originally we planned for Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Then… I don’t remember what happened, but we decided Thailand would work just fine for this trip.

Just a heads up, because this trip was so long it will be split into 3 posts. I hope you’re ready.

So, we started in Bangkok. I was traveling from northern japan where everything is covered in snow. I came in wearing long sweats, snow boots, and a jacket. I mean I New it would be warmer, but goodness I didn’t think I was going to combust as soon as I got off the plane.

Anyway, we booked a condo through Airbnb, with a pool and gym. I’m not exactly sure why, because we didn’t get a chance to use either of them. We were too busy exploring. Everything was going smoothly.

We visited a floating market, where we were supposed to barter and eat while riding down the river, but we did more onlooking than we did anything else. That wasn’t entirely our fault though. Our boat driver just wasn’t aggressive enough when driving alongside the other ones out there. So we ate and explored at the market adjacent to the floating market. The same day we toured a coconut farm, where we learned how to make coconut oil and other coconut products. I also got to shake hands with a monkey and hold a squirrel.

We took a tour of Jim Thompson’s house. There is so much history about silk and art in just that little section of Thailand. The residence was a gorgeous site to see. Then we road on mopeds to a 3-D museum. Along the way the drivers got lost, and an Indian man dedicated to his religion and helping people took it upon himself to walk us through the last part of the directions. The museum was very interesting. They took several famous works of art and turned them into works that made it look as if we were a part of them.

There was so much to see, so much to do, and soooo much to eat. There were more details to this trip, like temples and mini adventures, but I promise you’ll want to experience this city by yourself.